Greetings. How’s your heart? I’ve been keeping busy behind the scenes here at FemmePowered. This platform has opened up many opportunities for me and I am taking advantage of them all. I’ve recently been doing some speaking and teaching and I’m really humbled by it all. I’m having a lot of fun, too. The downside of this is that I am not able to post here as often as I’d like, but I suppose we can’t have it all:) I want to let you know that I am relaunching the book club that I started last year. No longer the Sip N’ Chat Book Club, it’s now called the Coffee & Conversations Book Club. I’ve had quite a few people reach out to me in the past year to ask if I could start back up the club. I also had folks ask me if I would consider a more…

Can I be vulnerable with you for a moment? Yes? Thank you. I am deep in the throes of anxiety and panics attacks like never before. For most of the week, I have been feeling ‘funny’, even a bit sad for no real reason. I feel burdened for no cause I can think of and I am unsettled. This week has been rough. I have been struggling to get through sentences, my voice cracks for no reason, I feel weak, and I just want to take an extended nap. After speaking with a friend who would know, she was quick to point of that these are common symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression. ‘Quit watching the news (I’m a news junkie) and get off Facebook! You are allowing the things that are happening globally and in the community to sap and deplete you.’ She is right. More than ever before, we…

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Hello all yuh! So last night I did a Facebook Be Live with Mellany Paynter of Mellany Motivates. Mellany is all about promoting self-care among women of color. In my last post, I shared an audio interview I did with her. Last night, we turned the tables. We talk about the catalyst behind FemmePowered, my abuse story, self-care and women of color. This is the first ever video interview where I share my story and experience with domestic violence and the strategies I used to find healing and wholeness. It’s raw, open and my truth. Check it out below and feel free to leave a comment. CarlanaCarlana Charles is the visionary and editor-in-chief of FemmePowered. She is a womanist, writer, speaker, story midwife and facilitator of meaningful and engaging conversations. When she is not working in or on FemmePowered, she can be found resting, baking, reading or scribbling furiously in her journal…

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Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare. – Audre Lorde (black feminist) How do you tend your temple? What does self-care mean to you? Do you get it from a jar of cold cream, a spa vacation or is it an internal construct? And how does it manifest in your daily life? I think self-care starts from a place of being aware of our worthiness. Once we understand that we are worthy and deserving of a whole relationships with ourselves, we make the time and effort to tend to all facets of our temple – mind, body, spirit, emotions. Listen to my conversation on self care and the black woman with Mellany Paynter of Mellany Motivates . In this episode of the Coffee & Conversation series on Tending the Temple – Black Women & Self Care, we explore how ideas like the…

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Hi folks, Happy Friday. Dropping a quick note to remind you of what’s happening at FemmePowered. If you missed the first Cocktails & Conversation, I’m inviting you to attend the second. This time, we’ll be discussing mental health. It’s not a sexy topic but it is important, and I hope you will be there. The goal of the session is to demystify and address the stigma associated with mental health. This Cocktails & Conversations will be on Wednesday 15 February from 6-8pm at the Connections on Kirani James Blvd, St. George’s. The Connections is upstairs Gleans Garage. Sharing with us on the day is Dr. Cecelia Rougier. Dr Rogier is employed at St. George’s University and is a PhD, Licensed Psychologist, and graduate of Columbia University. The cost to attend is $ EC 25 and if you’re planning on coming, I’d appreciate if you can RSVP HERE. This helps…